‘I’m a woman who’s totally destroyed’: Gisèle Pélicot testifies in mass rape trial

Gisèle Pélicot took the basal Wednesday, addressing a packed courtroom that included her ex-husband and immoderate of the 50 different men on trial who are charged with raping her astatine her erstwhile husband’s bidding.

For the archetypal clip since aboriginal successful the trial, she spoke astir her husband’s “immeasurable” betrayal, and expressed sympathy for the wives, mothers and sisters of his 50 co-defendants, French media reported.

“I ever wanted to propulsion you up, toward the light,” she said, addressing her ex-husband, Dominque Pélicot. “You person chosen the depths of the quality soul.”

Gisèle Pélicot, 71, has go a awesome of the combat against intersexual unit successful France aft she waived her close to anonymity and asked that the proceedings beryllium made public, insisting that the blasted beryllium shifted from the unfortunate to the perpetrators.

The proceedings is examining a 10-year period, from 2010 to 2020, successful which her ex-husband is accused of soliciting and inviting dozens of strangers to rape his drugged and unconscious wife. The assaults were meticulously documented successful thousands of videos and photos, which were recovered connected his machine and telephone erstwhile investigators went searching aft helium was caught filming nether women’s skirts successful a store.

Dominique Pélicot antecedently admitted to inviting the men, galore of whom helium recovered online, implicit to his location to rape his wife.

“Today I support that, on with the different men here, I americium a rapist,” Dominique Pélicot testified past month. “They knew everything. They can’t accidental otherwise.”

During earlier questioning, helium told investigators that men invited to the couple’s location had to travel definite rules — they could not speech loudly, had to region their apparel successful the room and could not deterioration perfume nor odor of tobacco.

They sometimes had to hold up to an hr and a fractional successful a adjacent parking batch for the cause to instrumentality afloat effect and render his woman unconscious, helium said.

On Wednesday, Gisèle Pélicot told different rape victims that “it’s not for america to person shame – it’s for them.”

“I privation each women who person been raped to say: Madame Pélicot did it, I tin too. I don’t privation them to beryllium ashamed immoderate longer,” she said, referring to her petition to person an unfastened proceedings and for videos of the alleged rapes to beryllium shown successful court.

The harrowing and unprecedented proceedings is exposing however pornography, chatrooms and men’s disdain for oregon hazy knowing of consent is fuelling rape culture. The fearfulness isn’t simply that Dominique Pélicot, successful his ain words, arranged for men to rape his wife, it’s that helium besides had nary trouble uncovering dozens of them to instrumentality part.

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Among the astir 2 twelve defendants who testified during the trial’s archetypal 7 weeks was Ahmed T. — French defendants’ afloat past names are mostly withheld until conviction. The joined plumber with 3 kids and 5 grandchildren said helium wasn’t peculiarly alarmed that Pélicot wasn’t moving erstwhile helium visited her and her now-ex-husband’s location successful the tiny Provence municipality of Mazan successful 2019.

It reminded him of porn helium had watched featuring women who “pretend to beryllium dormant and don’t react,” helium said.

On Wednesday, Pélicot spoke astir the assorted testimonies from pistillate household members of the defendants who person called the accused “exceptional men.”

“That’s conscionable similar who I had backmost home,” she told the courtroom. “But a rapist is not conscionable idiosyncratic you conscionable successful a acheronian car parkland precocious astatine night. He tin besides beryllium recovered successful the family, among friends.”

Protests person been organized crossed France to amusement enactment for Pélicot, with galore women expressing admiration for her courage.

“It’s not courage. It’s determination to alteration things,” she said. “This is not conscionable my battle, but that of each rape victims.”

Most of the accused told the tribunal they person been manipulated by Dominique Pélicot, rejecting the blasted connected him. Only a fewer person admitted to raping Gisèle Pélicot.

Some person apologized.

“I perceive those apologies, but they are inaudible,” she told the court. “By apologizing, they are trying to excuse themselves.”

Saying her husband’s betrayal of her spot was beyond measure, Pélicot told the court: “I’m a pistillate who’s wholly destroyed.”

She had thought helium was the cleanable husband, she told the court, earlier adding: “My beingness has tumbled into nothingness.”

The 50 men connected proceedings see a situation guard, a soldier, a firefighter, a erstwhile constabulary officer, a journalist, nurses and a civilian servant, with galore of them surviving astir the tiny French town, Mazan, the Pélicot household called home.

The proceedings is expected to wrapper up successful December.

— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters